The Four Legs Of The Table is a master class in the balanced management style and system of 'the four legs' – Administration, merchandise, promotions / social responsibility, people – with the sovereign consumer on top of the table. It is a lesson on how to run a successful business based on consumer sovereignty and the principle that making money is the reward rather than the reason today.

Raymond Ackerman built his retail chain during and after apartheid, and he stands his ground on the question of ethics - he believes it is possible to hold to a set of business principles and still be financially successful, whatever the circumstances. In an age of corporate greed, The Four Legs Of The Table is a welcome antidote to some of capitalism's spectacular failures.

All royalties from The Four Legs Of The Table go to the Raymond Ackerman academy of entrepreneurial development. The Academy, endowed by the Ackerman family, is intended to enhance the career prospects of disadvantaged South African school–leavers.

This timely book sets out how ordinary citizens can reform our broken economy.

Politicians curry favour with interest groups such as trade unions, public service workers, teachers and the unemployed, instead of serving the general public. Trade unions exploit labour laws to get benefits for their members without increasing productivity. Teachers enjoy sheltered employment without producing properly qualified learners. Formal employees abuse the bargaining-council system to push up labour costs imposed on employers and employees outside the system. Notoriously unproductive “public servants” enjoy above-market salaries in a growing sector that creates little to no economic value. Unemployed people, of whom there are 11 million, form the bedrock of our community of 18 million recipients of welfare grants. They produce nothing in return. The glue holding together all these forms of rent-seeking, is centralised government power, undergirded by laws and government spending.

The author highlights that the system of rent-seeking has damaged moral fabric in this country, eating at it like a virus. It does not let go, because it contains the seed of destruction of any argument deployed towards dismantling it. Rent-seeking is embarked upon – invariably almost – in the name of some noble cause or other. And noble causes demand that we be on the right side of them, or risk being tainted as unfair, oppressive, right-wing or simply bad.

Who in their right mind doesn’t want to protect workers against unemployment or exploitation, advance previously disadvantaged black citizens, improve the matric pass rate, help the poor with housing and money, build a strong public service?

As Forbes magazine heads towards its centenary in 2017, this is a timely look at how the work of entrepreneurs can influence lives in Africa and create the jobs that empty state coffers can no longer afford. Written by the founder of Forbes Africa, this is a masterclass on how the brightest and most successful entrepreneurs across Africa made their billions.

Chris Bishop gets up close and personal with the biggest names in business on the continent: Aliko Dangote, Patrice Motsepe, Nicky Oppenheimer, Christo Wiese and Stephen Saad, among others. These are the stories of how they not only survived, but thrived, in the fast and furious world of African business: the penniless priest who became a steel baron; the barefoot apple-seller who turned into a mining millionaire; the ‘knocksman’ who went from running dice games and dealing drugs to running a city.

This is a rich tapestry of stories about the super-wealthy and the qualities that make them successful, in arguably the most challenging economic arena in the world.

What is Public Administration? How does Public Management operate? Who are the key role-players? What are the principles, and how are these applied practically in the developmental context of South Africa? Addressing the broad topics that form the foundations of Public Administration and Management in South Africa, this text introduces and critically explores all foundational and functional aspects of the development, theories, principles, concepts, approaches and structure of public administration. Key topic areas are accessed in dedicated chapters to provide a solid grounding in the discipline. Students are orientated in the theoretical foundations of public administration and the practical implementation of public management in developmental South Africa, across local, provincial and national government spheres. Covering the role and function of core aspects of public administration and management, topics addressed include: public decision-making; service delivery and policy implementation; leadership and control; human resources management; public financial management; and ethics in the public sector. An expertly designed pedagogical framework supports and develops important academic skills such as critical thinking, practical application and data interpretation. Presented in a real, applied and visual manner, this engaging text is the essential introduction for all students of BAdmin, BA, BSocSci or BCom degrees in public administration and public management.

Why do these large financial institutions with hundreds of billions on their books fail out of the blue? What role do central banks play in these dramatic failures? How can the global financial system be reformed to be more resilient, and what path should South Africa take?

In a world where banks are perceived as unshakeable fortresses, there is a worrying truth that lies just beneath the surface: banks are far more fragile and fail more frequently than we choose to believe.

In the US alone, more than 560 banks have failed since the turn of the century. In South Africa, the collapse of Saambou in 2002 sparked the A2 Banking Crisis, which saw half the country’s banks deregistered in the aftermath. In 2023, the high-profile failures of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, Signature Bank and Credit Suisse dominated global headlines and set off waves of panic across the international banking landscape.

Hierdie boek is ‘n praktiese reis om die leser te neem van gegrief en verontrief oor uitdagings soos aftrede, afleggings ander soortgelyke uitdagings, tot ‘n beter verstaan van die leser self, wat sy uitdagings is, en wat daaromtrent gedoen kan word.

Inhoud en tegnieke is verpak in ‘n maklike verteerbare vorm om die leser weer op koers (Ware Noord) te plaas.

Thanks to historically debilitating apartheid laws and a lack of financial education, many South Africans are crippled by generational poverty, inheriting liabilities (like black tax) instead of assets. To change society, we need to convert consumers into investors, spenders into savers, and equip our nation with world-class financial principles.

Author, educator and property expert Laurens Boel sets out every step of the wealth-generation process, including how the rich think differently from the poor, how the economy works and how to earn passive income through side hustles. He offers his own set of insider insights on how to grow and protect your wealth.

The book focuses on property investing as a foundation for wealth. The reader will be armed with secrets to investing in South Africa’s lucrative property market, such as finding below-market-value deals, leveraging other people’s money and using efficient tax structures. Plus, you’ll get advice on wealth-generation strategies like trading and starting a business.

Millionaire in the Making is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their financial situation, as well as experienced investors looking to polish their portfolios and build wealth, not only for themselves but for generations to come.

This essential new book is a practical "how-to" guide to enhancing the quality of relationships between leaders and individuals in organisations – the proven key to maximising performance, building resilience, and retaining talent.

Integral vision, seen through each of the four quadrants described in this book, gives access to a range of perspectives, irreducible to one another but each significant in adding a kaleidoscope of understanding to a topic or body of knowledge. The author draws on recent research which focuses on Integral theory and emphasises the benefits to an organisation, including cultivating, at several levels, leaders and teams through coaching, improving the quality of meetings, introducing an understanding of emotional intelligence, and more recently, addressing adult stages of development. The book also demonstrates how the Integral quadrants can bring clarity to interpersonal and cross-sector communication, especially in diagnosing, planning, and implementing team and organisational strategy.

The concepts and practical skills explored in this book will be a valuable resource for senior leaders, human resources specialists, and in-house and external coaches focusing on leadership development, as well as students and trainers of coaching.

Being rich is not normal: most people never achieve wealth in their lifetime. The very word ‘rich’ describes a state beyond the median, and therein lies an important lesson.

To become rich, your thinking has to be radically different from that of the people around you. Do you know what those specific differences may be?

Business and wealth guru Douglas Kruger strips away the feel-good hype and gets right down to the practical principles. He leads you through the types of thinking that hold individuals, families and businesses in generational cycles of poverty. He explores the dramatically different approaches of the self-made rich and super-rich, showing you which behaviours to begin practising and which behaviours are traitorous to your wealth potential.

Escape poverty. Raise your value. Change the trajectory of your story.

It all begins with the way you think.

Drawing on a selection of ethnographic studies of precarious work in Africa, this book discusses globalisation and digitalisation as drivers for structural change and examines the implications for labour. It explores the role of digital technology in new business models and how it can be harnessed for counter mobilisation by the new worker.

Much of the debate on the future of work has focused on responses to technological trends in the Global North, with little evidence on how these trends are impacting work and workers in the Global South.

Drawing on a rich selection of ethnographic studies of precarious work in Africa, this innovative book discusses how globalisation and digitalisation are drivers for structural change and examines their implications for labour. Bringing together global labour studies and inequality studies, it explores the role of digital technology in new business models and how it can be harnessed for counter mobilisation by the new worker.

Africa is rich with potential and renowned for its innovation. However, with the long shadow of the Berlin Conference ever present, for Africa to catch up with the developed world, an exponential growth trajectory needs to be charted.

Musa Kalenga, technologist, marketer, brand communicator, entrepreneur, author of Ladders & Trampolines and Group CEO and shareholder of Brave Group, believes this is only possible using the springboard combination of creativity and technology. The Brave Code explores Musa’s journey with Brave Group to pioneer a shared value creative enterprise as a blueprint for other organisations in Africa.

Exploring tangible ways to benefit every member of its ecosystem, Brave Group upends traditional advertising models, challenges assumptions around equity, and pushes back at commonly accepted but outdated client and agency practices. Seeking to blaze a new trail and aiming to create a replicable model that has relevance beyond the advertising and marketing sector, Musa is spurred on by what is called a massive transformative purpose by Singularity University, and calls others to join him on the journey.

Weaving together anecdotal examples and personal musings with a working theory of change, The Brave Code is an encouragement to the young entrepreneurs, professionals and trailblazers in Africa to play a critical part in unlocking the immense value that the continent has to offer.

Never Waste a Good Crisis was born in the wake of Covid-19. However, the book elaborates on many other challenges that leaders in corporate South Africa have had to deal with – including deeply personal ones.

Is leadership an art? Can you learn it? Can anyone be a leader? Carié Maas asks twenty seasoned leaders what their leadership philosophies are, and their opinions vary as widely as the industries they come from.

The lessons they share from their journeys up the corporate ladder will inspire, encourage and challenge the reader.

Provides a comparative study of the complex governance challenges confronting city-regions in each of the BRICS countries. It traces how governance approaches emerge from the disparate intentions, actions and practices of multiple collaborating and competing actors, working in diverse contexts of political settlement and culture.

The scale and pace of urban change in the recent past has been disorienting. As individual cities evolve into complex urban agglomerations, scholars battle to find adequate vocabularies for contemporary urban processes while practitioners search for meaningful governance responses. Governing Complex City-Regions in the Twenty-first Century explores the ongoing evolution of metropolitan governance as diverse urban agents grapple with the dilemmas of collective action across multi-layered and fragmented institutions, in contexts where there are also manifold centres of influence and decision-making.

Whereas much of the existing literature is founded on the settled urban contexts of Western Europe and North America this book draws on the experiences of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The author shows that governance approaches are rarely designed but emerge, rather, from the disparate intentions, actions and practices of multiple collaborating and competing actors working within diverse contexts of political settlement and political culture. Intended for students, academics and professionals, the book does not offer packaged solutions or easy answers to the challenges of urban governance, but it does show the value of comparative study in inspiring new thought and perspectives, which could lead to improved governance practice within South African contexts.

Make sales! Build loyalty! Boost yoru career!

A must-have guide for all customer facing staff.

Have you ever wondered how wealthy people actually made their first million? Here is a simple, easy-to-follow book that shows how various people have made their money in their own unique way, helping you to find a method that will assist you in making your first million and gaining financial freedom.

We would all like to reach a stage where we are able to live off the income from our savings and investments. Sadly, very few people ever get there. But now there is help at hand: this highly accessible book is aimed at anyone who wants to learn how to make their first million in savings. It provides real examples of ordinary people who have reached their financial goals and explains how you can do the same, and offers practical ways of setting goals and keeping yourself motivated to achieve them, especially in tough times.

How To Make Your First Million furnishes people from all walks of life with practical information on how to achieve financial freedom in a range of different ways, and shows that it is possible for everyone to be financially free.

Are you buying a home for the first time, wanting to sell and buy again, or wanting to earn income from renting out property? A guide to buying or selling a house in South Africa is packed with ideas about how you can make the most out of investing in property. You'll find: Step-by-step guidelines that take you through the complete process of buying and selling a home; objective information about the pros and cons of buying and selling privately, using an agency or going for other options; independent advice on what to consider when looking for finance; practical tips on how to obtain the best price, whether buying and selling. A clear outline of the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved in a transaction. Thorough explanations of documents involved, and possible legal complications. A trouble-shooter's guide to both the small and big things that can go wrong. In this guide, the author makes available to the public the expertise gleaned from her years of experience as an estate agent. Her intention is to help 'maximize the gain and minimize the risk' of investing in the property market.

New traders are often led to believe that trading must be easy, which is true to some extent; it has certainly never been easier to trade. Barriers to entry are low, and you have unlimited earning power. You can trade whenever and wherever you like, using any of the numerous markets that are available to choose from, and you can select a low-cost platform from among the many platforms available.

But new traders soon realise that what is generally called ‘common sense’ does not work in trading; what they have been taught – that there is a right way and a wrong way – does not seem to apply to trading. Why? The answer is simple: Our brains are not naturally wired for trading, but they can be rewired. And you will find out how in this book.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced trader, reading Badass Trader can be a valuable way to learn, grow and improve your trading skills, setting you on a path to financial well-being. While both informative and practical, the book will also help to rewire your mind, stacking the odds of trading success in your favour so that you can get profitable quicker.

Werk soos ’n miljardêr vertel die verhaal van Dan, ’n werknemer, wat bloot van salaristjek tot salaristjek leef. Hy streef daarna om sy eie besigheid te begin maar hy staar verskeie uitdagings in die gesig.

Een van dié uitdagings is hoe om, sonder enige geld, ’n besigheid te begin. Maar alles verander op ’n dag toe hy voor ’n groot besluit te staan kom.

Die boek is propvol waardevolle wenke oor hoe om rykdom te skep, jouself beter te leer ken en hoe om volhoubare besigheidsisteme te bou.

Lew Geffen is destined to have an eventful life. Driven by a maverick spirit, he embarks on a wild ride of success, securing the local Sotheby’s International Realty license to become a major player in the property market.

Along the way he's fired by his mother, sells Mandela's house and navigates the fallout of a murder at his company's annual convention. Lew's extraordinary life is told with candour, warmth and laced by his wicked sense of humour.

Geffinitely a business memoir like no other.

What do you need to do to retire in comfort? What are the right choices to make before and after you retire? What are the mistakes that you need to avoid? How can you secure a sustainable income for the rest of your life?

This book, co-written by well-known semi-retired journalist Bruce Cameron and respected financial planner Wouter Fourie, answers all these questions and more. It provides straightforward, comprehensive and practical information on the vital issues that impact on retirement, such as taxa tion, investments, healthcare, estate planning and where to live when retired. And it also identifies warning signs to look out for in order to avoid financial troubles.

This fully updated edition is based on the 2023 Budget figures and takes account of changes in legislation, tax and retirement products.

This is the ultimate guide to help you achieve a secure and successful retirement.

Mteto Nyati knew as a schoolboy in Mthatha, working at his mother’s store, that he wanted to fix and build things. After completing his studies at Natal University, he turned down a Rhodes scholarship and headed for Jo'burg to take up a position at Afrox. He was the only black engineer and the advice he received was ‘don’t mess up’. 

He didn’t and today is one of South Africa’s top CEOs. This is his inspirational story. 

The world is driven by ambition, dreams, expectations, wishes and desires. We all believe we are the obvious choice to be selected, noted, identified, appointed or anointed. We may think and believe we are the obvious choice in many areas of our lives, but the reality is that this is not the case.

When your boss informs you that you are not getting that role you assumed was in the bag (and you’d already informed your family and friends that it was yours – and had even bought the attire to go with it), you ask: what happened? What happened when you were bypassed for the lead role in a project? You believed in your potential and you believed that everyone in your organisation and circle saw you as the main person, the leader or the ‘go-to person’, and yet you were bypassed and someone else in your team was selected. You were the obvious choice, weren’t you? Think of the assignment you prepared, the one you believed was the perfect presentation and would earn you a distinction, and then you flunked it. Where did you go wrong?

Mike Teke’s book is about showing you that you can be the obvious choice, in business or in life, but that being the obvious choice does not simply fall from any tree. Without focus, diligence and a strong work ethic you are unlikely to succeed, no matter how much you think you’re entitled to. The Obvious Choice debunks myths and prevailing negative mindsets. And, most usefully, it provides guidelines and lessons to prepare you for the journey to leadership greatness, to become the obvious choice in whatever setting or endeavour the universe presents

Shirley Zinn’s story is one of determination, courage, and triumph over incredible adversity.

Born and raised on the Cape Flats, Shirley never allowed her past to dictate her future. She proved that the typical story of a girl from the Cape Flats – that of gangsterism, alcoholism and teenage pregnancy – didn’t have to be her story. Instead she relentlessly pursued her own goals and forged an impressive academic career even when she faced significant odds. And when she’d done that, she set out to conquer the world of business.

Shirley is a formidable woman with an amazing story to tell. She has risen to the top of the pile in both academic and business circles, and yet she has retained great humanity and empathy in the face of great personal tragedy.

Her story has lessons for us all – whether we are ordinary or extraordinary, whether we work in business, in government, or at home. Shirley’s story will inspire you and show you that it is possible to achieve your goals, if you are prepared to swim upstream and be single-minded in getting where you want to be.

South Africa's pioneer and foremost thinker and voice on Black Economic Advancement, Phinda Mzwakhe Madi, is back with a bang. His first book, Affirmative Action in Corporate South Africa, triggered the first wave of Affirmative Action programmes in the country. His follow up book, Black Economic Empowerment in the New South Africa, led to the formation of the BEE Commission and eventually the creation of the country's policy and codes of good practice. Now his third book in the trilogy, BEE 20 years later - The Baby and the Bathwater, evaluates progress so far and startles with its fresh perspective on the way forward.

Twenty years after the introduction of BEE, Madi’s view is that the time for follow-up and reflection has come. Clear trends and lessons can now be discerned and learned from. He contends that there is an unfortunate narrative that is gaining currency in South Africa generally and the corporate world in particular, as well as numerous sections of civil society, that BEE has been nothing but a smoke and mirrors initiative towards oligarchy, hence his chosen title: BEE 20 years later - The Baby and The Bathwater.

He believes that, having been the first black author to have written on this subject, he has a unique view of the evolution of the process. As a black entrepreneur himself and a director of various top listed companies with a total combined turnover of more than R90bn, he not only has a conceptual and academic understanding of the subject matter, but also has an insider’s view and experience.

As the title suggests, there is now a tendency to want to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’. His book argues that we need to make a very clear distinction between the bouncing baby and the (at times) dirty bathwater. The book analyses both the bouncing baby and the unfortunate dirt and grime that covers the bathwater. It makes a very frank, clinical and yet balanced argument on how this distinction needs to be made, as well as why and how we should all ensure that the baby both survives and thrives going forward, whilst getting rid of the ugly side of BEE - the dirty bathwater. But more importantly, he examines how to restore the credibility of this process so that it truly and genuinely moves away from just being seen as the enrichment of the few and lives true to its promise: the economic empowerment of the many.

Featuring conversations with prominent Entrepreneurs, Business People and Thought Leaders: Herman Mashaba; Peter Vundla; Richard Maponya; Gaby Magomola; Thami Mazwai; Leon Louw; Joe Hlongwane; Vusi Thembekwayo; Sandile Zungu; Koko Khumalo; Mandla Malinga; Themba Dlamini; Lawrence Mavundla; Khanyi Kweyama.

Industrial psychologist and award-winning business coach Kathi Hyde and her clients have proven that you can start over or step up, even in hard times, to build a business that achieves the results you deserve, brings out the best and allows you to live life well.

Kathi’s passion to help small businesses succeed to international standards (irrespective of where they find themselves geographically) and her love for the people who start and run them, have helped lead her clients to record success, game-changing personal growth, contentment, and real results time and again. Using vignettes of her own story as a backdrop, Kathi shares proven step-by-step strategies to help existing and new business owners achieve the same results – no matter where they are in their life or business journey.

This book considers both the business owner and the business. Part One prepares readers mentally and emotionally to overcome their setbacks and take on the mantle of being a business owner. It also helps them work out the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of starting or growing their business. Part Two provides the practical business skills and know-how to build a profitable, resilient and rewarding business that delivers.

Based on sound business principles and practices, and packed with wisdom, anecdotes, strategies, practical examples, motivation, and the insight and experience gained from Kathi’s more than 30-year involvement with business across a range of industries in developed and developing countries, Peace By Piece is a coach-come-business-school in a book. It’ll help readers create peace from the pieces and guide them in laying the foundations of a fulfilling business that serves them and those they love and serve.